Independents lash out over BBC report
To be honest, it's unlikely that an increase in the number of independent productions commissioned would risk killing off the BBC altogether as a production centre since there will always be people that are prepared to work for the BBC. But it's a good thing that reports like this exist in order to remind politicians of the dangers of going down such a route that would damage the BBC in other ways.
What is likely to happen instead is a degrading in the quality of the services offered by the BBC itself, since independent producers need additional money to rent facilities (which in turn make a profit) and to make a profit of their own. The BBC is still so much more than 'Channel 4 without commercials' but politicians need to realise the essential distinctions before it is too late.
Independent producers can be used if the nature of the production demands their use, but the BBC should have the freedom to choose for itself as opposed to the scenario of being forced into using them through political pressure; the painful truth is that their use usually ends up just making a small handful of people richer and a sizeable group of people poorer.
